Product review: Urban Decay Primer Potion

I don't know why I haven't sung this product's praises before. This is the only product I've ever bought and then re bought, in a bigger size, because it's the bomb.

This is the Urban Decay Primer Potion, you stick it on your lids before your eyeshadow and it makes the colour last, without creasing, all day. This combined with a MAC paint pot like [PAINTERLY] gives you eye make up that is monsoon proof, seriously, that stuff will not come off for any tsunami.

It also brightens your eyeshadows, making them really pop, and helps your mascara stay in place, a win win situation if you ask me. You can also swipe it under your eyelids to stop your concealer creasing.

They've got a few variations of it too, so whatever your preference there's something for you!

Eyeshadow Primer Potion - (as shown in photo, goes on creamy, dries to translucent)
Anti Ageing Eyeshadow Primer Potion - (translucent finish)
Eye Primer in Eden - (tawny, matte finish)
Eye Primer in Sin - (champagne, shimmer finish) 
Eye Primer in Greed - (yellow gold, shimmer finish)

The three coloured ones can also be used as highlighters too!

Each one is £15.00/11ml of product. I can't remember when I bought mine, it was so long ago, but it's still going strong!

There's also a little travel size one you can buy for £8.00/6ml - here which is great if you want to try before you buy!

Love always,

Givenchy Pop Gloss Review

This month has been a limited spend month for me, as will next and the month after, which is getting boring, but needs to be done. So to occupy myself, I've been digging around in my make up draw and re discovering things I'd forgotten about.

I found this Givenchy Pop Gloss tucked away at the back behind various travel bottles of dry shampoo and moisturiser I haven't used in years and I cannot tell you how excited I was to find it again! I'd totally forgotten I'd had it, but the timing was perfect because it's such a summery colour!

Colour - 448 Pop Gloss Crystal

 It's the most stunning coral colour with peachy gold flecks in it to give your lips a slight shimmer. And the smell is delicious, it's very faint, like MAC's lipsticks slight vanilla scent - but it smells of popping candy, which makes me nostalgic for the 90's. The doe foot applicator is easy to use and the product goes on in a beautiful thick layer.

 So pretty! It's sheer, with the right amount of pigment to give a flush of colour, you can wear it alone, or I've yet to put it over a lipstick and not like it. The finish is high shine, but not at all sticky, which I often find is an issue with glosses.

Unfortunately, I think they've discontinued this gloss now, but if you like it, you can still find some on eBay here, or Amazon here. They start at £8.00 which is great for a high end product.

Sleek Pout Paint Review

Well hello again, I've been away from SDT for too, too long now. I thought student summer holidays were supposed to be a time of R and R, apparently I was wrong.

These are two little gems that I received in my July Summer Splash Glossybox, that made promises to be similar to Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics Lip Tars, and huzzah, turns out they fit the bill.

I know some people received the blue one, which may have been a little too nerve wracking for my safe tastes, so I was grateful to receive mine in Cloud 9 (left) and Rosette (right).

These little tubes contain some super highly pigmented lip stain, with a little notice on the back that states 'FYI a little goes a long way'. They are right, you can squidge the tiniest drop on to your brush and it'll cover your whole lips, so at £4.99, they're fantastic value for money. There's 11 shades, and they're made to be mixed and matched in whichever quantities you fancy to either brighten the colour or create a whole new one.

Cloud 9 - Ice White

Rosette - Vibrant raspberry pink

The two shades mixed

 They apply well, in a thick, rich consistency with beautiful pigment and opacity. Although they're beautiful colours, I wouldn't have classed them as a 'stain' as the colour didn't last as long as I'd hoped. But for the vibrancy and the price, I'd definitely re purchase again, and just keep in my bag for touch ups - I want to get my hands on the shades Milkshake and Mauve Over!

You can buy Sleek Pout Paints from Superdrug - RRP £4.99/8ml

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Lipsticks lipsticks lipsticks!

I am a lipstick loser. I will spend ages, choosing the colour, choosing the finish, pay a significant amount of money for it, covet it, pop it in my bag and promptly lose it.

Story of my life.

So I indulged in two new, not so expensive lipsticks from our good ol' friend Topshop!

The beautiful candy floss marshmallow pink shade on the left is Macaroon, and the blue toned red on the right is Rio Rio. Topshop make up is a new thing to me, I usually stick with brands who know their stuff and do their research, but I could not resist the amount of colours they had. And in such beautiful chalk-board packaging!

Macaroon - Velvet Finish

Rio Rio - Matte Finish

Although not as thick of a formula as my favourite MAC Russian Red, I think Rio Rio could be built up to a better opacity.

The winner though, is definitely Macaroon, I love LOVE this colour, it's so flattering and goes on like butter with a slight sheen to the finish. It's super moisturising as well as being so pretty. I may even pop back tomorrow to buy a second one, and maybe a coral shade if I'm feeling rich.

You can buy them for £8.00 here. Or in store!

Don't forget to follow along beauties!

Confessions of a Concealaholic

 So for those who Benefit Cosmetic kit virgins, you are missing out. They are the handiest little things, all of them are perfect sizes to fit in your hand bag, and they contain all the products you need in one place, which makes them fantastic for travelling and summer - especially if you're heading to a festival this year!

This is my most recent gain into my make up draw. It's called Confessions of a Concealaholic, and contains everything you need to eliminate any flaws on your face, and enhance all the good stuff.

Products from left to right:

1. That Gal Brightening Face Primer

2. Lemon Aid - Colour Correcting Eyelid Primer

3. Eye Bright - Instant Eye Brightener

4. Erase Paste - Brightening Camouflage for Eyes and Face

5. Boi-ing 02 - Industrial Strength Concealer

6. Boi-ing 01 - Industrial Strength Concealer

I'm so excited about this little kit because it's just so perfect! You can mix the colours, and use all the products or just a few depending on how unfriendly your skin is looking that day. One thing I really like about Benefit's products too, is that they all smell really yummy, in a really natural way. The kit also comes with a little 'how-to' booklet, in case any one is new to concealing and needs a point in the right direction, but is also still handy for those unfamiliar to the products.

You can Confessions of a Concealaholic from Boots. RRP £28.50

Anti Blemish Week #4 - Covering the buggers up

Whilst we're all so ready to preach on how to get rid of blemishes, it really doesn't help whilst we have them on our face. So follow my easy step guide to covering up the cheeky blighters flawlessly!

But firstly, the big question; before or after?
In all honesty, it doesn't matter when you apply your concealer, whether it's before or after your foundation, personally I like to apply mine after, because then I can see what spots are still showing through, it it ends up with me using a lot less product than I would have otherwise.

So without a doubt, applying cover up like a pro:

1. Put your base on. Foundation, BB Cream, or just a bit of moisturiser. Whatever you use on a day to day basis as your face base.

2. Pick your poison. Here you have to choose your concealer, go for a thicker one like Benefit's Boi-ing, Mac's Studio Finish Concealer or Clinique's Even Better Concealer.

3. Next you'll want to apply the concealer in a patting motion. This prevents it rubbing back off on to your fingers - N.B. Applying the concealer with your finger helps to warm the product up, but make sure they're clean!

4. Setting. Pick a loose translucent powder. I say translucent, you can use a tinted one if you want, but translucent ones are less likely to make the skin look cakey. Brush powder lightly over the top. Wait five minutes, then set once more. This second setting will make sure the make up stays put.

So, songbirds. Go forth and apply make up like you were born to do it!

Sherry x

Wednesday Wants

It's wednesday, and time to get wants off my chest.

These 'Mom' jeans seem to be everywhere at the moment, and I am loving them. With a plain slouchy tee and converse, or with a brown belt and a lace vest. Either way, they look super comfy.

Secondly, this matte skin foundation from Becca looks great for oily skins in summer time, I may just have to splurge.

What are your wants for this month?

Clearer Skin in Just Four Weeks! Anti Blemish Week

'What?' I hear you say - 'Four weeks to clearer skin!?'. 

Yes, I say. After reading Make Up Savvy's blog post on Seventeen's new On The Spot Foundation and noting that Twitter were having a bit of a party about it - link - I decided to purchase and see what the fuss was all about.

It's innovatively packaged, in a tube with a foundation pump, which actually disperses the right amount of foundation to cover all my face in one pump, usually I find there's waste from pump foundations. It comes in six different shades, I have Porcelain, which is the lightest. It has full coverage of spots, and I only need to touch up a tiny bit with concealer.

What I especially love though, are the ingredients - salicylic acid and kaolin.

Kaolin is a soft china clay, and was traditionally a remedy for upset stomachs and they still use it in some intestinal medicines today because it's main ability is absorption. Which makes this perfect for oily/combination skin as it will soak the oil up day in day out, with minimal touch up. This drying action will also prevent any more pores from being clogged up with oil, causing more blemishes.

Salicylic Acid is another great thing for combination skin, if you've ever seen any homemade face mask recipes for an Aspirin Facemask, that's because Aspirin contains salicylic acid, which is great for oily skin, blemishes and pore refining. It's a bitter powder extracted from willow trees, known to reduce inflammation, and this is what it will do with any blemishes, it will open clogged pores and neutralise the bacteria within.

Both these ingredients, prevent blemishes, so not only will your skin clear up in four weeks, it will stay clearer with regular use.

I'm going to use this foundation for one week and do a before and after photo, so we can see if it really works!

You can buy Seventeen's On The Spot Foundation at £6.99 from Boots.

June Favourites

So I've been having a bit of an rediscovery make up wise, in the period when I was err 'in between jobs', I had to delve in to the depths of my make up collection and re discover some goodies that had been tried and tested and loved, but then overshadowed by new purchases. 

I'm going a lot lighter these days for the summer months, even though England hasn't seen a real summer since, well, ever. But it's nice to feel summery all the same.

From left to right:
MAC Paint Pot in Painterly - I cannot recommend this paint pot highly enough, it's a nude pinky beige, veering on the more beige side. Goes on as a cream and dries to a powder. It's absolutely fantastic as an everyday eyeshadow, or as a base for a make up look. Retails at £14.50 and you can get it here. Or online at House of Fraser or Debenhams.

Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Lip Balm in Cherish - This is something I picked up from boots after being taken in by the gorgeous Emma Stone who was facing Revlon at the time. It is definitely more of a balm than a lipstick, and it takes a bit of applying to get the colour even. That aside, Cherish comes out as a light, but bright pink, the texture is smooth and the balm goes on like butter with a faint peppermint scent, although it is not a plumping balm. It also fades off beautifully, so you don't have to worry about scummy lips. It comes packaged in an adorable chubby crayon, similar to that of Clinique's chubby sticks, and in seven different colours. You can get it at Boots for £7.99, which is a complete steal if you ask me.

Urban Decay Lip Junkie Lipgloss in Naked - This is a perfect lipgloss for day to night. Sheer enough to go over the top of a brighter colour, and tinted enough give a little oomph to every day wear. It's a dusky pink colour, with a slight gold shimmer, again with a peppermint scent. The finish only slightly glossy, rather than a high shine. Although this is a beautiful gloss, I would only wear it when my hair's up as it has a tendency to be slightly sticky. I received this gloss alongside the Naked 2 palette, but you can buy a full size version here. RRP £13.00

Urban Decay De Slick Mattifying Powder - As an oily chick, I am constantly on the look out for new products that will banish my oily skin away, so that I don't finish work looking like I've dipped my face in a paddling pool. This doesn't quite do the trick, but it's one of the best I've found so far. The powder is white, so if you're not that fair, it may take a bit of blending - but on my pasty skin, it's not too bad. It does keep the shine at bay for a good five hours, as long as I apply it straight after finishing my foundation, and then again an hour or so later, I can go to work, re apply on my break and be relatively shine free. The packaging could be a little nicer looking for £20.00, but there's a huge mirror on the inside which is handy. You can buy it here.

Jelly Pong Pong Fairy Lashes Mascara - This was a bit of a surprise favourite product. I received this in my Glossybox in May, and promptly discarded it due to the brush being a bit flimsy and the formula being stringy when removing it. I have a bit of a love hate relationship with mascara, in that I love it, but it seems to hate me. My eyes over water due to them being unusually dry, so I have to wear waterproof mascara, otherwise I look like a panda within minutes. I decided to give this mascara another go, and have been using it everyday ever since, it stays put through my tears and since using a balm to remove makeup instead of a liquid, it doesn't string either. Although it's not £15.00 worth, it is a good mascara and I would recommend it as a good evening out one, as the formula would stay put through tears and sweat. Unfortunately I cannot find it in stock on a website, but you can buy it from EBay, and it comes in four different colours, brown, black, warm violet and alpine blue. I'm tempted to find the violet one.

Sherry x

Tropicoral Kit Review - Benefit Cosmetics

So recently I've been having a bit of a coral obsession. Which is unusual because I'm usually a fan of neutrals, and the brightest I get is a  red lip on occasion. But last month I went to Rome and popped in to Boots to buy some travel essentials - and of course a lot of non essentials - and came across this cheek and lip kit by Benefit.

And it is the cutest.

From left to right it contains:

Cha Cha Tint - a cheek and lip tint in a bright coral colour, builds beautifully, but you have to blend fast otherwise it will set

High Beam - A pink toned illuminator, added to the plains of the face gives a really beautiful dewy glow.

Coralista Blush - This is the sheerest blush I've ever used and requires a lot of layers, but builds to a lovely coppery finish. The brush is poor though, switch to a regular blush brush.

Ultra Plush Coralista Lip Gloss - I LOVE this gloss, it has a slight tropical scent to it as well which feels oh so summery. Goes on really sheer and smoothly and isn't sticky in the slightest. Leaves a shine.

Everything comes in a perfect travel size pot so you can remove them and use them as stand alones, or keep them together in a kit.

I've swatched them out for you so you can see them, 

Left to right:
Lipgloss, Cha Cha Tint, High Beam, Coralista Blush.

Even though I put on three layers of the powder blush, I could not for the life of me, get my camera to pick it up, but it is there!

You can pick up this kit and some very similar ones in different shades here.